Benefits of Massage Therapy for Arthritis Patients Page 4

well-being a patient experiences following a massage treatment is seen as being a large factor in pain reduction in arthritic people (Cimons, 40).

Training is Rigorous

At least 25 states require massage therapists to be both licensed and certified. The State of New York, for example, has required such licenses since 1968 - one of the first to do so. Now, with more nurse practitioners coming to use massage therapy, there are rigorous requirements before they can do this.

 Again, in New York, the nurse must be a graduate of a state registered massage therapy program, or have an equivalent education. He or she also must pass a written examination before performing any therapy (Anonymous 1, online).

 In California, anyone applying to be a massage therapist must take courses approved by the Board of Registered Nurses in the state. Here, registered nurses have an advantage over other students, for they have already taken the advanced anatomy and evaluation courses while students in their nursing program. Otherwise, they must complete other courses in the program, which has 500 hours worth of courses collectively (Anonymous 2, online).

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